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How did Indian Culture Spread in the South-East Asiatic Countries during the Gupta Age?

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Get the answer of: How did Indian culture spread in the South-East Asiatic countries during the Gupta Age?

Indian missionaries, merchants, scholars and many adventurous and ambitious rulers played an important part in establishing Indian colonies across the high mountains and the deep seas and had a hand in moulding the civilization and culture of many countries including Tibet, China, Battria, Khotan, Burma, Nepal, and the East Indies.

This colonial and cultural expansion of the Hindus beyond the natural frontiers of India is often termed as “Greater India”. The process reached its climax during the Gupta Age.

In the East Indies, i.e., Islands of Java, Sumatra, Bali and Borneo, etc. Ceylon and many south eastern countries of Asia like Cambodia, Champa, Burma and Siam, the Indians had planted their colonies and consequently the Indian culture left a deeper and more powerful impression on these countries.

The culture of some of these countries especially that of Bali, still resembles to the Indian culture even after the lapse of thousands of years. In the words of Dr. Majumdar, “Indian religion, Indian culture, Indian laws and Indian government molded the lives of the primitive races all over this wide region (including all the above mentioned countries of the Far East), and they imbibed a more elevated moral spirit and a higher intellectual taste through the religion, art and litterateur of India. In short, the people were lifted to a higher place of civilization. A greater India was established by a gentle fusion of races, which richly endowed the original inhabitants with the spiritual heritage of India”.

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The demands of trade with Rome had encouraged Indian enterprise in South-East Asia, since it provided many of the commodities the Romans wanted-gold, spices, scented resins and woods. Siberian gold ceased coming to India when the Romans came to control Parthia, and thus India sought gold elsewhere.

Having once discovered the potentialities of South-east Asia, Indian traders developed this trade on a large scale, even after the decline of commerce with Rome. Trade led to settlements, which slowly developed into colonies. Indian influence permeated the local pattern of life, particularly in the regions today known as Thailand, Cambodia, and Java: yet India sent no armies, the process being one of peaceful penetration.

Chinese annals of the time, referring to Indian activities in Southeast Asia, mention Funan (the Mekong delta) as the first sphere of activity. Small settlements were also made in the Malay Peninsula, since it was connected with nearly all the east-coast maritime centers of India*. Ships sailed from Tamralipti and Amaravati to Burma, Martaban, and Indonesia. The ports of the south India sent ships to Tenasserim, Trang, the straits of Malacca, and Java. The west coast ports also shared in the Southeast Asian trade.

The nature of the Indian impact varied according to the region from where it came. Initially, both Buddhists and Hindus visited and settled in these regions. Gradually the tradition of Hinduism became stronger when brahmanical rites and ceremonies and the use of Sanskrit were adopted in court circles. Some of the finest Sanskrit inscriptions come from these areas.

Geographical place names associated with the new religions were adopted: e.g., Ayuthia the ancient capital of Thailand was named after Ayodhya, the capital of the kingdom of Rama, and the hero of the Ramayana. Indian iconography was repeated in the images, which were made in these countries. Yet, with all this, they maintained their indigenous culture as well.

The Indian impact is understandable in terms of a more advanced civilization meeting a less advanced one, with the elite of the latter moulding themselves on the pattern of the former, but to refer to south-east Asia during this period as ‘Greater India” is certainly a misnomer.

The local culture was visible in all aspects of life in these countries, whether it was the Javanese version of the Ramayana where only the bare bones of the Indian story have been retained, the rest being the incorporation of traditional Javanese legends, or whether it was the conception of the god-king amongst the Khmer rules of Cambodia, where the idea of the god-king both had a pre-Indian origin and was also influenced by Indian thought on the subject.

Burma or Myanmar was known as Subarnabhumi during those days Indian culture reached there through Buddhism. Slowly and slowly the Indians established their colonies at various places. During Gupta Age Pegu, Arakan and Sri Kshatra were major centers of Indian religion and culture. Hari Vikram, Surya Vikram, Anirudha were some of the rulers who did a lot in spreading the Indian religion, culture and civilization in Burma. Many Buddhist monasteries and temples of the Hindu gods were erected there. Merchants of Bharoach, Varanasi and Champa were involved in commercial activities with Subarnabhumi.

Siam maintained close connection with India from the third century onward. From this up to the sixteenth century A.D. the Indians established their domination over this land. It was first a vassal of the great Funan Empire and then it became independent in about the sixteenth century Indraditya was the greatest Indian ruler who ruled aver this territory.

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One the language and literature of this territory the Indian influence is still clearly visible. Even up to this ‘day a great majority of the people of Siam are Hinayna Buddhists in their faith. The very name “Siam” or Black has much to do with the Indian traditions.

Champa is a small state lying to the north-east of Cambodia. The Hindu colonization of this territory began in the second century A.D. From the second to the fifteenth century A.D. various Hindu dynasties ruled over this kingdom for many centuries, the chief being Amravati. Hinduism was the dominant religion and the people were the followers of Shiva. The rulers of Champa were powerful who successfully checked the onslaughts of the Cambodian rulers for a very long time.

The Hindus colonized Cambodia in the first century A.D. and established a powerful kingdom in this area. Under the Kambuja Monarchs this kingdom made a great progress that conquered the neigbouring territories of Indo-China Siam and other islands. The Kambuja rulers like Jaya Varman II, Yaso Varman and Swiya Varman were great patrons of the Hindu culture and civilization. The Hindu Art and Literature greatly flourished under them.

They laid the foundations of many beautiful cities ‘and decorated them with splendid edifices Angkor, the capital of Cambodia, was a splendid city which was decorated with beautiful pillars, gateways and a high stone-wall “In short”, remarks one art-critic, “everything was conceived on a truly noble scale, and it was one of the greatest cities in the whole world in that age”.

Bali is a small island that lies to the east of Java and retains up to this day so many traits of the Hindu civilization and culture. The people here still worship the Hindu gods and are still divided into four Varna’s or castes. Thus, there is no denying the fact that the Hindus must have occupied this island for many centuries and that they took great part in civilizing the people of this island.

Borneo is the biggest island in the East Indies. The Hindus colonized it in about the first century A.D. Many great rulers patronized Hinduism and consequently beautiful temples of Hindu gods were built here.

Java was one of the most important colonies of the Hindus in ancient India. They had settled in Java in about the first century A.D. In about 132 A.D. a king named Deva Varman was ruing there. When Fahein visited this Island in about 414 A.D. he found the Hindu religion flourishing there. The chief deities of the people were Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, etc.

The Hindu colonization of Sumatra began even earlier than the Christian era but it came into prominence in the third century A.D. From the third to eight centuries A.D. Sri Vijaya dynasty was all-powerful in this island. Buddhism was very powerful here and according to It sing more than a thousand Buddhist monks were residing there.